Category: Church Life

A generation of baby-boomer pastors are facing retirement age. Spanning an eighteen year gap from 54- to 72-years-old, approximately 10,000 boomers...

In the first installment of Course Corrections For Worship Ministry , I maintained that Worship Is About US — Not About ME . I challenged us to...

I am a pastor. I play keyboards on our church worship team. And I am a New Testament scholar. As you might imagine, I have some pretty strong...

I often prefer to work on projects alone, instead of as part of a group or with a partner. Working alone seems efficient and clear, because I only...

In part 1 , part 2 , and part 3 of this essay, I reflected on what makes for a balanced life in terms of the bodily needs for proper care in...

In part 1 and part 2 of this essay, I reflected on what makes for a balanced life in terms of the bodily needs for proper care in feeding the...

In part 1 of this essay, I reflected on what makes for a balanced life in terms of the bodily needs for proper care in feeding the body. I...

How does the world reply to Christ’s question in Mark 16:15 ,“But who do you say that I am?” Great teacher? Religious leader? Humanitarian?...

I am not good at balance, but I am aware of the need for it. We all make hundreds of choices every day that are small in themselves, but have...

The thesis of the book When Helping Hurts (WHH) is a Christian call to “North American congregations and its missionaries to participate in poverty...

La historia siempre la escriben los vencedores. Esta frase resume cómo nuestra visión de la vida siempre se ve influenciada por una perspectiva que...

The following is a portion of a chapter I wrote in Biblical Leadership: Theology for the Everyday Leader (Edited by Benjamin K. Forrest and Chet...

The “Life of Jesus” in the Deeper Connections Bible study series is the fourth DVD and participant’s guide to be released by Rose/Hendrickson...

Prayer is unnatural and often dubious, so it is difficult. We wonder if we have the right motives, if we will be heard by God, and if we have...

Here is the Introduction from Dr. Joe Hellerman’s newly released book, Why We Need The Church To Become More Like Jesus: Reflections About...

Baptism, Communion, and Confirmation in the Reformation Movement: Impact on Ministry with Children in Churches Today [i] , Part II As I shared...

Baptism, Communion, and Confirmation in the Reformation Movement: Impact on Ministry with Children in Churches Today [i] , Part I As most of you...

​Cada año la importante revista Time selecciona a la persona que ha tenido más influencia en el mundo durante el año. La persona del año 2017 ha sido acertadamente y sin lugar a dudas las mujeres que rompieron el silencio y cuyas voces empezaron el movimiento #MeToo (yo también). Estas valientes personas han hecho públicas sus desgarradoras historias de abuso y acoso sexual las cuales abarcan todos los segmentos de la sociedad y lamentablemente también de las iglesias.

Politicians, civil leaders and concerned citizens continuously debate the causes and potential cures for the extreme poverty that has trapped many people-groups in a vicious cycle of impoverished lifestyle choices. Theologian Wayne Grudem and economist Barry Asmus have partnered to present a sustainable solution to poverty at the national level ...

We are made in the image of God, an image that is tarnished yet has survived the fall. Who we are is intrinsically connected to who God is. Our spiritual depth, our being able to know ourselves, is linked to knowing God and who He is. This is where God’s word comes into the equation, because the Bible is one of the primary ways God discloses himself—what He’s done, what He’s doing, and what He promises to do. Spiritual depth is far more than how much you know the Scriptures or even how well you know it. It is knowing the Word of God and the God of the Word, the book and its author. We come away with a better, more thought-filled understanding of what He is like, what He says, what He expects of those who bear His image, and why, and how He empowers those who follow His son Jesus ...

Symptoms of unattended souls are wide and many. Self-diagnosis is not difficult. Pridefulness and self-centeredness. Bitterness. Loneliness. The tendency to doubt. The tendency to compare. Regrets. Depression. Envy. Anger. Fear. Hopelessness. Guilt. Feeling insecure. Feeling unlovable. Being short-tempered with the people I love most. Being short-tempered. Experiencing waves of unworthiness. Fake. Empty. Motivated by peer approval. Inadequate. Controlling. Defensive. Engage in only small talk. Mask-wearing. Hold grudges more and longer. Waste hours on the computer or in front of the T.V. Intolerant. Unforgiving. Apathetic ...

It is a sad but accurate appraisal that in our contemporary society we are held captive by television viewing, commercials, and the Internet. We are victims of a repertoire of fast-food menus, instant gratification, and overcrowded, conflicting, and unrelenting schedules. This entertainment-soaked culture, wrestling with boredom, thrills, and materialism, has contributed to the sensory overload common to urban life. Our addiction to and with information technology with its online connections, news and internet communication, websites, blogs, and streaming (to name a few) exacerbates the preexisting flood of intruding must-haves and must-dos that demand our time, attention, affections, and devotion ...

Dr. Kevin Lawson (Professor of Educational Studies at Talbot School of Theology) recently co-edited and published Infants and Children in the Church: Five Views on Theology and Ministry in partnership with Dr. Adam Harwood (Associate Professor of Theology at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary). We wanted to learn more about this book, so we had Dr. Lawson respond to some questions ...